“Speaker John Boehner exhorted his Republican colleagues to stop sitting on their hands and pass the House’s highway bill.” [Politico 3/7/12]

“Boehner was forced to issue an ultimatum on Wednesday to end bickering that has stalled the bill as a crucial road funding deadline draws near….In a closed-door meeting with House Republicans, he warned that if they fail to pass the House bill, they would have to settle for a less-ambitious measure being considered by the Democratic-controlled Senate, according to a source who attended the meeting.” [Reuters, 3/7/12]

Boehner now:

"Frankly, I think if we get to June 30th, it'd be a six-month extension, and move this thing out of the political realm that it appears to be in at this moment." [Roll Call 6/7/12]

So much for calling to get the highway bill done.

Another fun flashback: Speaker Boehner seems to have changed his position on election-related can kicking. Back on May 24th of last year, speaking about the deficit—another critical issue facing Congress—he said: “No more kicking the can down the road, no more whistling past the grave yard, no more waiting until after the election, we need to deal with the problems now.”

But now he’s suggesting that House Republicans might do just that on the highway bill. It’s time for Speaker Boehner to take his own advice, so that we can create jobs and give certainty to businesses.